The Greatest Misconception about Recruiters

As a job seeker, you’ve probably been heard more than once to contact a recruiter to assist you in finding a job. In fact, I’ve even advised individuals to submit their resumes to employment agencies that specialize within their industries when they first begin their job search.

Now while it’s true that recruiters help individuals find jobs, therein lies the biggest misconception about recruiters and the role they play within your job search. Having worked as a recruiter, I know from first hand experience just how valuable recruiters can be when helping individuals find employment.

Working with recruiters can: Lead to increased response rates from hiring managers; expose you to opportunities you may have otherwise missed; or even expose you to opportunities you may not have considered.

However, the job of a recruiter is, and always will be, to find suitable candidates for the opportunities that they’ve been hired to fill and never the other way around. Simply put, while the objective of a jobseeker is to find a job, the objective of a recruiter is to find the right candidate for an exact job.

Note that these are two very different objectives, and the very reason why I’ve always said that while recruiters can assist you on your job search, never allow yourself to be mistaken into thinking that they will completely takeover your job search and find a job on your behalf. That of course still is, and forever will be, your job.